TAXI FOR FARRELL: FOOTBALL BETWEEN THE LINES, BY DAVID FARRELL, PUBLISHED BY TECKLE BOOKS, £9.99.
RATING OUT OF 10: 9
BOOKS by ‘journeymen’ footballers about life in the muck and nettles of the lower leagues are hardly new, but this one is quite simply brilliant.
To be honest, I’d never heard of this David Farrell. When I heard the name, I thought of the one who used to play for Peterborough.
But this is the Scottish David Farrell, who in a 28-year football career as player, coach and assistant manager took in stops at Oxford United, Hibernian, Partick Thistle, Airdrie, Clydebank, Stranraer, Albion Rovers, Gretna, Clyde, Dundee, Notts County and Celtic Nation.
After failing to make the grade at Oxford United, who were in England’s top-flight at the time, Farrell had his peak years at Hibs, where he spent seven-and-a-half years and played in a League Cup final.
But after those heady days his playing career gradually slid down the divisions and injuries began to take their toll.
What makes the book so interesting is Farrell’s insight, the thought processes a professional player goes through. As he points out, a player has to a large extent be selfish and make sure he takes every opportunity that comes his way – or he won’t survive in such a cut-throat business.
For example, as a trainee Farrell felt he was in a battle with a local lad Darren Britnell to earn a contract at Oxford United – so deliberately targeted him.
He said: “I did everything I could to prove I was the better bet, manipulating things to ensure I was always on the opposite side. I would pick him up at set-pieces in full-scale practice matches and beat him in the air, or at least be physical enough that he didn’t get a free header, and if ever there was a 50/50 challenge there was no way I would come out of it the loser. In possession games,…, I’d try to make sure I was closest to him when he received it so that I could get a tackle in or he’d give it away as he was under so much pressure.”
As you’ve gathered, the Glaswegian was a thinker. Early on in his career, he decided to turn himself into a midfield enforcer to give himself the best chance to carve out a career. Get stuck in and then give it simple to someone who could unlock a defence.
As the years go by, Farrell’s body starts to give up on him, but his desire to play on is so great that he’s willing to take repeated injections just to get out on the park.
And once he finally has to hang up his boots, he gets involved in coaching and management. That’s a whole new can of worms as such a pre-carious business ends up with a job/sacking/fight for compensation/time on the dole cycle.
Farrell repeatedly says how lucky he is that his partner Samantha never stopped him chasing his dream and, indeed, she seems to have the patience of a saint.
This is a warts-and-all account of life in professional football that really makes you think. As a taxi driver, Farrell is now out of the football madhouse, but, despite all the ups and downs, you know he wouldn’t have changed it for the world.
John Lyons
I’LL TELL YOU WHAT…, BY ROBBIE SAVAGE, PUBLISHED BY CONSTABLE, £18.99.
RATING OUT OF TEN: 6
TAKE a cursory glance at Amazon’s customer review section of Robbie Savage’s new book I’ll Tell You What… and you’ll read two highly contrasting ratings. One satisfied punter has awarded the book four stars, while another disgruntled reader has given Savage’s work just one star.
The two reviews perfectly encapsulate football’s “Mr Marmite” and Savage revels in his ability to “divide opinion like Moses divided the Red Sea”. His words.
I’m fairly ambivalent about Robbie Savage – his commentary efforts aside. It’s difficult not to admire Savage’s passion for the beautiful game; much like I respected his ability to marry what little talent he had as a player with boundless determination and hard work to forge a good top-flight career. However, I was forced to question this at several points whilst reading this book, and not just because of the funny looks I received from fellow passengers on the tube.
We all know that Robbie Savage isn’t the most self-effacing of human beings but having chapters titled “Vanity” and “Me and My Cars” in a football book is questionable – as were some of his sporting opinions.
The chapter “Billionaire Owners, Money and Commitment” shows a man slightly out of touch with the average fan. Firstly Savage cites Roman Abramovich and the proliferation of wealthy owners in the Premier League as only a good thing; he should try telling that to fans of Newcastle and Blackburn.
Throw in his view that modern players aren’t in fact overpaid, “at the end of the day it’s all relative”, and that it’s the English weather that is responsible for the Top Four failing to entice the world’s elite to the Premier League and you complete a hat-trick of absurdity. Oh, and did I mention that he would value a young Phil Neville at £25 million in today’s transfer market?!
The banality and madness is punctuated with positives though. As someone that grew up in the nineties, I did enjoy the nostalgic accounts from those early Premier League years, as well as Savage’s insight into injuries and immediate life after football.
If you want to find some proper football insight in your stocking this Christmas then I’d recommend asking Santa for any of Jonathan Wilson’s work, but Savage does live up to his onscreen persona; at times provocative, entertaining and illogical. He sums it up nicely, “Love me or loathe me, I’m just being honest.” Not even John Terry could dismiss that.
James Riley
DAVID BECKHAM: FIFTY DEFINING FIX-TURES, BY STEVE TONGUE, PUBLISHED BY AMBERLEY PUBLISHING, £12.99.
RATING OUT OF 10: 7
IF YOU’VE had enough of David Beckham to last a lifetime, then quite clearly it’s best to ignore this book.
But if you are a Beckham fan, or you know someone who is, then this could make an ideal Christmas present.
The book does what it says on the tin – it takes a look at 50 key fixtures in Beckham’s career. And if all the celebrity hoopla with ‘Posh Spice’ detracted from the football, then at least this book redresses the balance.
For a long period, Beckham was at the heart of football for Manchester United and England, involved in all the big matches.
It’s obvious that among the 50 there will be games like the Red Devils’ last-gasp Champions League final win against Bayern Munich, his sending off against Argentina in the 1998 World Cup that made him a national villain and his famous free-kick against Greece that earned England World Cup qualification for the 2002 finals.
But perhaps it’s the early games in Beckham’s career, and to a lesser extent the latter ones, that are more interesting, because we all know about the big ones.
For example, game one is a Milk Cup quarter-final for Manchester United Under-16s against Liverpool in 1991. A United team containing the likes of Gary Neville, Beckham, Nicky Butt, Keith Gillespie and Robbie Savage triumphed 4-1, while Paul Scholes was one of the subs.
Gillespie hit a hat-trick while captain Beckham netted a penalty in United’s romp against a Liverpool side containing Robbie Fowler.
One of the other more interesting matches is Preston North End’s 2-2 draw with Doncaster Rovers in 1995.
Preston were in the Football League’s bottom division at the time and United thought a loan spell would toughen him up.
With Preston trailing 1-0 at home, Beckham came on for the second half. The home side quickly drew level through Simon Davey before Beckham scored direct from a corner! The match eventually finished 2-2.
Steve Tongue has chosen a good range of matches and has clearly done his homework. The matches are put into context well and there is a good flow with a range of quotes mixed in. It’s not earth-shattering, but it’s certainly a worthy effort.
Tom Blackett
WRITTEN IN THE STARS – FOOTBALL, AN ARMCHAIR AND THE SEARCH FOR A HAPPY ENDING, BY RICHARD STOKOE, PUBLISHED BY I_AM SELF-PUBLISHING.
£9.99, RATING OUT OF 10: 7
SOME people pick a football team to support as a child and never change their mind. Others do it differently…
Richard Stokoe is a case in point. As a fiveyear-old living in Didcot, he had a Manchester United Subbuteo team – and started supporting them.
Back in the mid to late 70s, the FA Cup final was pretty much the only live domestic match on the television and Stokoe had mixed emotions. A 1-0 defeat to underdogs Southampton in ’76, a superb 2-1 victory against Liverpool in ’77 and a heartbreaking 3-2 defeat against Arsenal in ’79.
But then his life changed forever when he went with a couple of Chelsea-supporting friends to watch the Blues take on West Ham at Stamford Bridge. Despite some scary moments on that mid-September day in 1984, it’s the start of Stokoe changing from the red of Manchester United to the blue of Chelsea.
And as the years go by, it’s strange how their paths are inextricably linked. United thump Chelsea 4-0 in the FA Cup final in 1994 and then pip them on penalties in the Champions League final in Moscow after John Terry’s slip.
Stokoe could be forgiven for thinking he’d made the wrong decision, but, as we all know, Chelsea did eventually become kings of Europe in 2012.
Not that he watched the final against Bayern Munich live. After finding out the scores of some earlier matches in the competition after the final whistle, superstition wouldn’t allow him to watch the final.
“Not only was I not in Munich, but I hadn’t even watched the match. But the moment I learned the result, there was little doubt in my mind that I could, and should, celebrate with a clear conscience because I contributed to the team’s success by not watching them,” he said.
Stokoe’s story is a fascinating account of one supporter’s fixation with football. It includes his flirtations with Wimbledon and later AFC Wimbledon, and also a ‘Sliding Doors’ chapter in which he explores what could have happened in his life if he’d stayed a Manchester United fan.
This book will have the greatest appeal for Chelsea supporters, but football fans in general will find plenty in it that they can relate to.
John Lyons
THE LEADERS BIRMINGHAM CITY, BY KEITH DIXON, PUBLISHED BY DB PUBLISHING, £14.99
RATING OUT OF 10: 7
THERE have been plenty of joys and sorrows, as Birmingham City’s famous ‘Keep Right On’ anthem predicts, in the club’s 140-year history with plenty of top players and captains throwing on the royal blue during that time.
This book, billed as ‘the official publication for the 140th anniversary of the formation of BCFC’ has been compiled by Keith Dixon and is his seventh book on the Blues.
Known, especially in the past 15 years, as one of England’s primary yo-yo clubs, there has been plenty of incident at St Andrew’s since the new millennium.
However, Dixon goes way back to look in depth at Birmingham captains who have led the Blues to the club’s most famous matches and victories (granted, there aren’t too many!).
The thoroughness of Dixon’s research means you learn as much about Ned Barkas, a former striker turned full-back, as you do recent players such as League Cup winning leader Stephen Carr.
The book also looks to answer the question of ‘what exactly is a captain and what do they bring to the team?’.
Barkas, signed in 1928 by Leslie Knighton, is a prime example and was described as ‘inspiring his own men with his own deeds’.
He joined Blues for £4,000 which, ironically, is probably more than current City manager Gary Rowett has to work with!
Solihull-born Fred Harris, who played his whole career at Birmingham, led the club to the Division Two championship in 1947-48 and was always destined to be a St Andrew’s great – he scored on his debut against Aston Villa!
Former Blues goalkeeper and later manager Gil Merrick, who gives his insight throughout the book, described Len Boyd as ‘a good player and a bloody good captain’.
Boyd was skipper for Blues’ Division Two winning campaign of 1954-55 and the 55-56 FA Cup final d efeat to Man City.
Sold to Birmingham for £17,500 by Plymouth, Argyle waited for the deal to be rubber-stamped before announcing his departure, that afraid of their own fans’ response. You wouldn’t get away with that during the Twitter era, that’s for sure!
The book goes on to document Trevor Smith, captain of the 1963 League Cup win over Villa – Birmingham’s first major trophy.
The likes of Leyland Daf winning skipper Vince Overson and Liam Daish – who was captain for the Auto Windscreens Shield – are also profiled.
Dixon does a great job of breaking up the fascinating information with statistics and photos of mainly squad pictures, programmes and match reports from the big games. Not only are the captains mentioned but also the key players from the big matches.
It’s an easy read that will appeal to Birmingham fans both young and old that maybe want to take a trip down memory lane or expand their knowledge – a fantastic addition to any Bluenose’s Christmas stocking!
Steven Coney
MATCH OF THE DAY ANNUAL 2016, PUBLISHED BY BBC BOOKS, £7.99,
RATING OUT OF 10: 7
IT SAYS on the front cover of the Match of the Day Annual that it’s not for oldies – complete with a little illustration of two old people crossing the road.
To be honest, they’re probably right. Annuals are usually for children, aren’t they? This one is choc-full of colour with pictures, posters and features. A kid of 11 or 12 will probably love this. The reading material is light and fun, and there are little quizzes and teasers to do.
‘Oldies’ may enjoy a quick flick through it and there are some good features to cast your eye over, including the top free-kick takers in the Premier League and ‘The Alternative A-Z of Football in 2015’.
There are also a few chuckles in the ‘Ridiculous Sickulous Footy Rhymes!’ feature. For example, there’s one on Jose Mourinho called Silly Old Mou.
‘What’s wrong with you, You silly old Mou? You won the Prem last year But still that won’t do. You’re sneering and jeering All over the place. Shouldn’t you keep your cool In this hot title race? The pressure from rivals Is trouble enough, Just wait until Easter, That’s when it gets tough. And if you keep exploding You know what they’ll do. They’ll ban your bum from the touchline, You silly old Mou!’
Let’s hope he sees the funny side.
Max Serrano
